


A Fine Mess

by thegrrrl2002



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-26
Updated: 2012-09-26
Packaged: 2017-11-15 02:22:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/522114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrrrl2002/pseuds/thegrrrl2002
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for pollitt's prompt: Grace and Danny show up on Steve's doorstep, covered in mud and sand and guilty looks on their faces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fine Mess

There's a sharp knock at the door. Curious, Steve frowns as he approaches it. He's expecting Danny and Grace, but there's no car in the driveway and it's pouring rain out. He hesitates before reaching for the knob--maybe he should have his weapon on him.

Another loud knock. "Open the door, Steven," Danny's voice calls out over the driving rain. 

Steve opens the door and does a genuine double-take when he gets a good look at Danny and Grace. They're filthy, unbelievably filthy. There are leaves in Danny's hair, the front of his jeans are covered in mud and there's a tear in his used-to-be-white t-shirt. Grace has dirt streaked up the side of her legs along with a splatter on her left cheek and Steve doesn't even know what color her shirt used to be. 

"Hi Uncle Steve!" Grace pipes up, grinning like she's having the best time of her life. 

"May we come in?" Danny asks with exaggerated politeness. 

"No," Steve says, but Danny brushes past him anyway, hustling Grace in ahead of him. "Watch the--at least take your shoes--oh, never mind."

Carpet shampoo should get that out. 

"Do I even want to know?" Steve asks as he follows them into the kitchen.

"Can we get a little hot cocoa here? And maybe a towel or two?" Danny asks, exasperated, as if he's just stepped into a hotel with the worst service ever. "Please?"

But he's using his manners, at least he said please. 

"Please?" Grace adds, water dripping from her nose. 

Okay, Steve can't hold a grudge against anyone that cute. He hustles into the laundry area to retrieve a stack of folded towels, then fills the kettle and sets it on the stove. 

"Tell Uncle Steve about our day, Grace," Danny says, wrapping a huge towel tightly around her, around and around until she looks like a pale blue cocoon with pigtails. 

"Danno got a flat tire," Grace informs Steve as Danny lifts her onto a chair, then crouches down to remove her sneakers. 

"He did?" Steve reaches for the packets of instant cocoa mix. "Was he able to change it?" 

Granted, there's a lot of gear in the trunk of the Camaro, but he's pretty sure there was spare tire in there, hidden under the grenades and flak jackets and flash bangs. And maybe even a jack, too.

"He tried to," Danny answers, stripping Grace's socks off. 

"But the car got stuck in the mud!" Grace grins. 

"It most certainly did, Monkey. Right there on the side of the road. Half on the road, half off."

Steve forces his face to remain neutral. Danny, oddly enough, doesn't seem too upset, but laughing right now may not be a good idea, especially since Danny seems to have just discovered he has mud in his right ear. 

"Why didn't you call?" Steve asks. "I would have come to get you, you know that."

Danny extends a hand at Grace, urging her to continue. 

"Because Danno dropped his phone. In a puddle. A _big_ puddle." Grace bursts out laughing and Danny grins, obviously delighted that Grace is having such a good time of it. 

"And," Danny adds, straightening up as he rubs the towel over his head. "what about my darling daughter's phone?"

"Locked in the car," Grace sings out, then giggles all over again. "With the keys!"

Steve can't help it, he laughs out loud as he retrieves two mugs from the cabinet and measures instant cocoa mix out into them. "Nice going, Danno." 

Danny nods as he smooths his damp hair back. "I may have cussed, just a little. With words my darling daughter will never ever use herself, right?" 

Grace nods, all big eyes and pink cheeks, her legs swinging in their blue cocoon. 

Steve pours the hot water into the cups, then adds a dash of milk to cool the cocoa down. "All right. But I still don't understand how you two got so muddy."

"Danno said we should take a shortcut to your house," Grace explains. She struggles briefly to get her arms free, then takes the cup offered by Steve. "Thank you."

"You were over on--oh, wait, you didn't try and come up the ravine, did you?" Steve absently sips Danny's cocoa. 

"Would you please--" Danny takes the cup from him. "Yes, we tried going up the ravine, it didn't look so steep from the road, all right? I tell you though, my monkey does indeed climb like a monkey. Me, not so much." 

"So that explains the--" Steve gestures at the front of Danny's pants. 

"I may have slipped, once or twice." 

"Ah." Steve nods. 

"Yes. Ah." Danny scowls at Steve, but then Grace giggles and Danny's expression goes soft. "Okay, maybe it was a little bit funny." He grins over his cup at Grace, who starts laughing all over again and Steve joins in, wishing he could have been there. 

"All right," Steve says finally says. "Grace, as soon as you are finished with your cocoa, you can go up and shower. You've got some spare clothes in the laundry room. I'll call the tow truck and bring over my spare keys. Danno, you'll handle the laundry after you shower, then clean that rug, please, while I call a tow truck and deal with the car. Got it?" 

"See?" Danny says to Grace. "Like I told you, Uncle Steve knows just what to do. Barking out the orders like he always does."

"Hey, I wasn't barking--"

"Lets give him a big hug, okay?" Danny grins, arms flung wide and next thing Steve knows he's engulfed in two fierce hugs, one big and one small. Damp, muddy hugs and great, now he's filthy too. He suspects that's no accident, especially since Danny's rubbing a leg against his. 

"Oh, look, you got dirt on you too now," Danny exclaims innocently. “I am _so_ sorry.”

“Danno,” Grace says. “That wasn't nice.” 

Steve places his hands on her tiny shoulders. "Grace, since you're clearly the adult here, I'm going to ask you to make sure your father cleans the dirt off the floors, okay?" 

She nods earnestly. 

“What?” Danny says. “These floors look fine.”

Steve grins and kisses her forehead, then pulls his phone from his pocket as he grabs his keys and heads out the door and into the rain, content that there's laughter in his house now, laughter and a fair amount of mud, along with a few dead leaves and probably spilled hot cocoa at this point and that's all fine with him, it truly is.


End file.
